Wednesday, February 1 – Mark 9:2-3

And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them.

Often in church circles, we use the term “mountaintop experience” to refer to a moment that leaves us feeling particularly close to God. Whether we come to this moment at a retreat, concert, or even just during time alone, the nearness to God at that moment feels monumental, a time to remember in our faith walk for years to come. The events in today’s passage were a mountaintop experience in every way—a moment to see God’s glory on display. It’s interesting that here Jesus displayed His glory and that He restrained it at all other times. Charles Spurgeon said, “For Christ to be glorious was almost a less matter than for him to restrain or hide his glory. It is for ever his glory that he concealed his glory; and that, though he was rich, for our sakes he became poor.”[1]

This moment was monumental because the disciples got to witness Jesus’s glory on display, but it also served as a reminder that this is who Jesus was all the time even when His glory didn’t seem so evident. Peter would later recall this memory as a reminder of the truth in the hope we hold. He said in 2 Peter 1:12, “Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them and have been established in the truth which is present with you.” Even when we feel like God’s truth seems tough to remember or understand, remember the glory of Christ that is always active, even when it is hard to see.

• How do you remind yourself of the truth of Scripture in particularly difficult moments?
• When have you seen God at work in a mighty way? When have you seen God work in a quiet moment?
• Pray and ask God to help you stay firmly established in the truth of His Word.

[1] Charles Spurgeon, “Christ’s Transfigured Face,” The Spurgeon Center, August 1, 1880, https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/christs-transfigured-face/#flipbook/.